Toyoda Gosei Co. Ltd. President Naoki Miyazaki spoke at the recent Tokyo Motor Show: “With the core of the market transitioning from developed to developing countries, and with consumer needs shifting to small and eco-friendly vehicles, global competition is intensifying to meet these changing needs. At Toyoda Gosei, we are facing these changes head-on with our TG2020 Vision targeting sustainable future growth....
Industry
Bridgestone’s Tokyo Plant Restructuring
Masaaki Tsuya, CEO and Chairman of the Board of Bridgestone Corp., spoke with the Japan Rubber Weekly about the ongoing restructuring of the company’s development and manufacturing center in Tokyo’s Kodaira district. After the Kurume plant, the Tokyo plant has the second longest history of any of Bridgestone’s plants, and along with its Yokohama chemical and industrial products base, also...
Tohoku Region Attracts Automotive Industry, Faces Economic Disparity
Yoshinori Abe, acting chairman of the Tohoku Industrial Rubber Products Wholesale Trade Association and president of Seiwa Shoji, recently spoke to Japan Rubber Weekly about the economic conditions of the Tohoku region. Dividing the Tohoku region into East and West, an economic disparity has arisen between the three prefectures of Aomori, Akita, and Yamagata on the Sea of Japan side, to...
Second Half Outlook Upbeat for Forbo Light Conveyor Belts
Light resin conveyor belt manufacturer Forbo Siegling Japan Ltd., headquartered in Switzerland, reported that Japan sales of its belt division in the first half (January to June) were nearly flat compared with the prior year. In January to May, overall business was slow. Some regions had few new business prospects, with Tokyo, Osaka, and Nagoya struggling. But demand began to recover...
Bridgestone Integrates Mining and Agricultural Machinery Operations
Bridgestone Corp. plans to establish in-house companies for mining and agricultural machinery on Jan. 1, 2016. Until now the functions of mining and agricultural machinery have been separated by region and product type. By integrating them from the perspective of customers, Bridgestone seeks to increase its customer orientation and enhance the expansion of its solutions business globally. The in-house companies...
JRMA Establishes IRSG Liaison Committee
JRMA (The Japan Rubber Manufacturers Association, President: Tadanobu Nagumo, Chairman, CEO, and Representative Director of The Yokohama Rubber Co. Ltd.) announced that it has established an IRSG (International Rubber Study Group) Liaison Committee during its 6th executive meeting, which was held in Osaka. In addition to the supply and demand statistics work it has been carrying out, the IRSG has started...